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Thursday, 2 August 2007

Almost a Square

Made this Milk Loaf using a Pullman's tin (loaf pan that comes with a cover). I bought the tin for almost three weeks already, and I only got the chance to try it yesterday. Well, from the photo you would have guess that the loaf didn't turn out as expected...yes, it didn't fill up the entire tin :(

I guess the portion of flour used (only 250g) is almost quite impossible to fill up a 11cm x 11cm x 19cm loaf pan. The poor dough took almost 2 hours to rise up to about half the height of the tin! This is the longest time I have waited for a dough to proof for the second time. As it was getting rather late, I went ahead to bake it, knowing very well that I won't be able to get a square sandwich loaf :'(

Nevertheless, despite the shape, the texture of the bread was exactly what I have been looking for. It was really super soft (not sure whether it was due to the looong proofing time??), airy and cottony. The bread tasted as good the next day, still very soft and surprisingly very flavourful (could be the butter I used). I didn't have to toast the bread and it tasted delicious even eaten on it's own without any spread. There's no cream or bread improver added in the recipe...just egg, flour, milk, butter, sugar, salt and yeast. This is the kind of recipe that I have been looking for! using only the very basic ingredients and yet yield the best result.

I always have problem taking pictures of bread texture...this is by far, the best shot that I could manage...see how soft the bread is?

Besides the good combination of the ingredients in the recipe, I believe the shaping and rolling out of the dough also contributes to the soft texture. I used this shaping method for this loaf. I have also adopted the method of adding the butter only after the rest of the ingredients have been mixed for 8 ~10 mins. This method has been widely adopted in cookbooks from Taiwan and Japan. The reason behind this is that during the initially mixing, temperature will rise a bit...adding the cold butter later will help to reduce the temperature...well, this probably ensures the yeast to activate and maximise it's "potential" at "the right" temperature?? I used my bread machine to knead the dough...using the Dough function which has a standard kneading time of 20 mins. Once the kneading cycle completed, I stopped the machine and re-start it to give it another 10mins of kneading. I then let the dough proof in room temperature. As the bread machine will increase the heating temperature once the cycle starts, I left the lid opened throughout the kneading cycle. This helps to prevent the temperature from getting too high.

This picture was taken while I was trying to take photos of the bread slices under the morning sun ;)

Place milk, egg, followed by caster sugar, salt, bread flour and yeast into the pan of the bread machine. Set to Dough function. Add in the butter after 8 ~ 10 mins into the kneading cycle. Continue to let the bread machine do the kneading. Stop the machine after the kneading cycle. Re-start the machine and let the dough knead for another 10mins before stopping the machine.

Remove dough from the bread pan, let it proof in room temperature in a mixing bowl, covered with cling wrap. Let proof for 60mins.

Remove dough and punch out the gas. Divide dough into 3 equal portion. Roll and shape into balls. Let the doughs rest and relax for 15 mins. (this 'relaxing' time is needed so that the dough will be easier to roll out and shaped).

On a lightly floured surface, flatten one dough and roll out into a longish shape. Roll up the dough swiss-roll style. Do the same for the two remaining doughs.

Flatten the rolled-up dough and roll out again into a long rectangular shape. Roll up tightly, and make as many rolls you can, swiss-roll style for the second time. Do the same for the two remaining doughs.

Place doughs in lightly greased bread tin/pan. Let the doughs proof for the second time, until it fills up 80% of the tin/pan. Cover with cling wrap.

Bake at pre-heated oven at 180 ~ 190 deg C for 30 to 35mins. (I set mine to 200 deg C as my oven temperature is always on the low side.)

Unmould the bread immediately when removed from the oven. Let cool completely before slicing.

Mandy, I was initially quite annoyed with those shadows of my window grills casting all over my subject...then I came up with the idea of using the shadow of the monkey coin bank :) It gets to show that we can always turn around a bad situation if we think on the postive sides of things. ^l^

Happy Home Baking, The bread looks so yummy and soft. I haven't try any bread recipe yet cos I am not a bread person. But will do it one day for my kids and hubby cos they love breads. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

P/S : I like your photography skills. Very good leh. U take any course ?

Hi, Thanks. Bought my pullman's tin yesterday. I bought the bigger one. I like to bake for one week supply. What I do is I will freeze up those that are extra. I will take the qty I need the next morning for breakfast. This will maintain the softness of the bread. Thanks again! :-)

Hi Anonymous, yes, you may do this by hand, in fact, all bread can be made by hand :) The only thing is, you will need to knead the dough for at least 20 mins. Sometimes I do up to 30mins until the dough no more sticks to your hand and the work surface. For most Japanese & Taiwaness bread recipes, they will recommend that the butter be added after you have mixed the other ingredients to form the dough. (Theroy: the dough temperature will rise a bit after the initially mixing, so add in the butter slightly later to lower the temperature). So if you are making by hand, mix the rest of the ingredients(w/o butter) together in a mixing bowl to form a dough. Then place it on a lightly floured work surface to knead until it becomes smooth (this takes only a few mins, real fast). Then add in the butter (u can break it into small pieces) and knead into the dough. Slowly, the dough will become very wet and sticky, dont give up, and dont flour the surface anymore, just keep on kneading. You can use a spatula to help scrap the dough from the work surface. Evenutally it will become smooth, non-sticky. This kneading process is very important to ensure a soft, fluffy texture. Happy kneading =)

Hihi,Linked from one of the blogpage to your site and i must say u 'enlightened' me thru the Q&As in this page esp and boost my confidence to try breadmaking again. but 1st, i will need to get that breadmaking machine. Like the soft cottony texture of your breads. cheerios.

hi HHB,I wanted to let you know, I tried out your recipe and it is fantastic!!

I made a couple of changes -

1. I replaced the bread flour entirely with all purpose plain flour,

2. and I hand kneaded for at least half hour, until I saw the 'dough window' thing (from Baking 911).

3. Also, I think I sort of accidentally killed half the yeast - this is what happened. I warmed the milk, and then mixed up the rest of the flour, etc, and by the time I added the milk, I think it was already cool. So I put the mixing bowl above a pan of boiling water, and I think half the yeast died.

I still left it to proof, nevertheless, and amazingly, after 2 hours of proofing, my dough did double (it was unchanged after 1 hr), and I punched down and followed your recipe, etc, and here's where I deviated again - I left it to proof another 2 hrs (only because I had to feed my girl, bathe her and put her to bed and cook dinner for hubby), and the size was just right.

By the time I finished the bread, it was midnight (I started at 3pm) but the effort was worth it!! NExt time, I will double the recipe so that I can have more bread!

Hi Canton Pixie, so glad to hear that you like this bread recipe too!! I didn't know that plain flour could be used for making bread!!! what a surprised! I've only used bread flour. You have got such patience! I couldn't imagine myself making a bread from 3pm to 12am! Well done!

hallo HHB,I read somewhere on the net that plain can be substituted for bread flour - only that you mite not have so-called as fantastic results - and as i wanted to cut cost (since i also bake muffins, cookies, and other things, and all use plain flour - so no point me buying bread flour just for bread) i decided to use just plain flour. btw, plain flour can also be subsituted for cake flour - i think per cup of plain flour - remove 2 tblspn flour, and add in 2 tblspon cornflour. another cost-cutting idea!!

i had no choice but to continue!! i left the bread to proof while doing my other chores!!!

Hi Canton Pixie, thanks for telling me! I am aware that we can "make our own" cake flour and self raising flour. but I have not come across subsituting bread flour with plain flour. I aways get the different types of flour as I am simply too lazy ;p

Hi, I bought the Morphy Richards yesterday and had tried this as my first bread using the Dough function for the 1st 20min then the auto program for white bread 1.5lb to finish up the rest of the baking. The bread turned out way above expectations. Even my husband agreed that we've never tasted bread so fresh, tasty (even though it was alittle on the salty side) and fluffy before. We'll probably never buy another loaf of commercial bread. However, the crust was quite thick so it was very hard to slice the bread. Another difficulty I had was measuring 5g of salt, 4g of yeast (which I figured is ~2.5tsp), 35g egg and 143g of milk as I don't have a digital scale. It'll be good if u can tell me how many tsp or cups these are? Lastly, I used Meiji fresh milk instead of HL and my bread is not as white as yours but alittle yellowish. Nevertheless, I thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe with us.

Hi MamaPanda, great to hear that your first loaf was a huge success :)You may refer to this link for the conversion (http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/cookingconversions.asp?Action=find). The link is also available at the side bar of my blog, under 'Tools'.

I do not have a digital scale either, my scale can only read to 10g! so I always go by estimation!! As the original recipe is also in grams, as such I didnt convert it into cups, as I always go by metric and I prefer to weight the ingredients. For 4g of yeast, it should only by 1 teaspoon, as for salt, 5g is slightly less than 1 teaspoon! No wonder your bread was salty, hope you didnt use 2 teaspoons of salt? The yellowish colour could be due to the egg, maybe you have added in more eggs than required?

Oh no.. I definitely used too much yeast, salt and egg. My scale was a 10g scale too and I added close to 2tsp of salt, 2.5tsp yeast and almost 1 whole egg (which was close to 50g). I had trouble measuring 35g egg as the egg white was stretchy and caused a big mess leaking everywhere.

Hi MamaPanda, since you added double the amount for both the yeast and salt, the dough may not be affected?! Salt will inhibit the fermentation of yeast, hence the extra salt you used could have 'balanced off' the extra yeast :) what an experience! I do have the same problem with the egg white too!!! It was quite frustrating, and I always hate to measure egg! What I did now, is to lightly beat the egg a little, to get rid of the stretchy egg white before measuring...still sometimes it could be quite messy! It's only come to bread recipes that I will measure the egg obediently! and this bread recipe definitely worth the extra effort.

I've baked this bread 3 times this week already and I really love this recipe. Next week, I shall experiment adding in dried cranberries, raisins , etc to make it even more yummy. Wished I can post the pic of my first loaf for you to see!

Just want to say thank you thank you thank you.. for sharing this wonderful recipe. I tried it this weekend... and it was wonderful.. my first bread.. taste good and soft.. reminded me the bread we can get from home.

I really am glad that I tried this. It's really good bread. I made my loaf a little small the first time, but it still came out delicious. I know what to tweak now (my oven time and placement) It's really good for next day bread with a little butter and milk rubbed on and heated in the microwave!

I just tried this last Sunday and the loaf still remains soft till today! It came out really delicious and soft. Thank you for being so generous in sharing this with us. By the way, I've linked you up and here's my post on this loaf I did: http://aneconomistbaker.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-first-plain-loaf.html

Hi Sukkimi, the size of the pullman tin that I am using is about length:7", width:4", ht:4".I usually lightly beat the egg first...but I don't think it is really that critical, unless the recipe doesnt call for a whole egg...you will need to lightly beat it before measuring to get the required amount. Hope this helps :)

Hi Sukkimi, it is advisable to use bread flour to bake bread as it has got higher gluten. I did have bloggers telling me that they use plain flour, and had no problem with it. I have not tried it though.

I baked my first and hand knead bread using your Milk Loaf recipe today adding pork floss and black bean paste. It is soft, cottony and yummy. The whole loaf is gone within half an hour. :)Thanks HHM for sharing the recipe and tips.~ Li

Hi HHB,I made this loaf just now.The bread is very very soft,fluffy and tasty.Like Gardenia advert"Can even eat on its own"I now prefer this recipe than the Hokkaido Milk Loaf cos less "milky" smell.It did rise very high after an hour(after 2nd proofing),maybe cos I used the KitchenAid hook to knead.Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Hi Vien, it is as soft as gardenia...but do take note that homemade bread 'age' very quickly, I have now being storing all my homemade bread in an airtight container...it helps to prevent the bread from drying out too fast. After my first attempt...all my subsequent attempts with this recipe was very successful. You can now play around with the fillings and flavour :)

Hihi, one thing to check. If I fully hand knead the bread, is this sequence of adding the ingredient correct?flour, rub in butter, instant yeast, salt, sugar, milk(from the fridge), egg.I used this sequence yesterday, it worked. Somehow wonder if this is right.Thanks~Li

Hi Li, no no that's not the way! You have to mix flour, sugar, satl and instant yeast in the mixing bowl first. Then make a well in the centre...and pour in the milk and mix to form a dough. Then transfer to work top and knead until smooth then knead in the butter. You can refer my post on Match Red Bead bread...I have included some step-by-step photos in there. Hope it helps!

HHB,my bread have no time to 'age' cos they are usually all gone within 24 hrs. ;)

I have made the cream cheese bread,hokkaido milk loaf(that one with whipped cream),65 degrees Tangzhong loaf(sadly unsuccessful)and one using mixture of potato flour/bread flour(very fine texture but the softness didnt last).

I have also tried baking with Japanese flour(no difference).

Will stick to this recipe as my boys like it the most.Next I will experiment this loaf with the Japanese butter which a Straits Times journalist was gushing about recently.

OT: Must compliment you on your photographic skills.Saw the pine cones photos.You have a natural talent.I was in the Photographic Society while in school but my photos skill is so blah.:(

Thanks for your tips, I was following the method earlier from this video where butter is rubbed in after the yeast.http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/video/2008/03/bertinet_sweetdoughhttp://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2008/03/sweetdough

Finally i've bought my bluesky bread maker last night Promo price S$69. I'm really excited after hearing so much good sharing about the bread making fun. Onto Bread making journal i come.

I'm wandering if i could fully make use of the full function in doing up this bread instead of using the pullman tin. I've mpt get hold of one yet. Probably i may pop by Phoon Huat to buy this weekend. But just in case i couldn't get on time can I ... make use of the breadmaker mode as to Basic or sweet or ???? Base on your recipe should i choose 700g or 900g. Was it Light colour that i should go for.

Hi Yin, I have not use the full function to make this bread. However, you can try using the Sweet function, and choose the smallest loaf size (700g?) and set the crust to Light. Do remember to read thru the entire instruction manual before using the bread machine. I read from Elyn of E'S Joie's blog that the pullman tin at Sun Lik is of better quality. You may want to consider getting it from there instead of PH.

this is my first time making bread and it was a success. i am so happy and excited while eating the home baked bread. hehe.. thanks for sharing the wonderful baking tips. especially the step by step Matcha Red Bean Loaf (kneading by hand, with illustrations) . thanks happy home baker :)

Hi,Thanks for this recipe. I made it and it was soft the following day too! However, I didn't find it as "flavourful" as yours. Probably because of the milk I used (Full Cream)? And maybe because of that, the yeast taste seemed to be over-powering. :p But I still love this bread! At least it's "calcium-enriched"! Heehee... Thanks!

Hello HHB,I would like to try make this milk loaf recipe. May I know whether those ingredients could filled up the whole pullman tin? I have a pullman tin which is 7.5 x 4 x 4 inches. Do I need to add more ingredients to have a square milk loaf?

Hi Kitchen Corner, yes, this recipe is able to fill up the whole tin...I have the same tin size as yours. Just make sure you let the dough proof till it reaches almost 90% of the tin before baking. I was able to get square loaves on my subsequent attempts.

Hi HHB,Thank you for your advised. May I know how long it takes for the first proofing? I normally proof 20minutes for a straight dough method. Shomehow, every recipe has its own different proofing time. I just like to confirm it takes 60 minutes proofing time for this recipe. Many thanks!

Hi Kitchen Corner, yes it takes about 60mins for the first proof depending on the weather. On cooler days, I may let it proof up till 90mins. As for the second proof it will also take about an hour. I am quite surprised to know that you only need to proof 20mins for your breads...usually the recipes that I came across would state the proofing time as 1 to 1.5hrs.

Hello HHB,Thank you for answering my questions. I was quite surprised that the straight dough method should proof for 60 minutes. I have baked two or three straight dough bread that only need 20 - 30 minutes proofing. That's why I am a bit confuse. Well, I have no much experience in making bread so I will go for your advise for this recipe Thank you so much!

Hello HHB,Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I have made one and it was absolutely fantastic! This recipe will keep for our routine breakfast menu. Cheers! http://gracekitchencorner.blogspot.com/

Hi You Fei, yes I usually use the breadmachine to do just the kneading. I let it knead for the standard 20mins, then stop and re-start the machine and let it knead for another 10mins. You can leave the lid open after the machine has started mixing for the first 3 - 4mins. The reason is, the first few mins of mixing may send flour flying over your kitchen counter ;)Do remember to select the smallest loaf size and use the lightest colour for your crust if you are using the full cycle. Have fun!

Hi You Fei, I am sorry, I didnt get to read your comments early! For this recipe, you can either bake it covered or uncovered. It all depends on what shape you want, to get a square loaf, bake it with the lid covered.

As for the proofing time, it really depends...on 2 things. One is the room temperature, if the weather is cloudy/rainy, it takes much longer, the other thing is the temperature of my ingredients. I keep all my ingredients for this recipe in fridge, so sometimes, they may not reach room temperature before I used them (time constraint). I do noticed that if the ingredients are cool, it takes a longer time to proof. By estimate, for this recipe, it usually takes 1.5hrs for the first proofing, and second proofing it will be about 1 hr before it reach almost to the top of the pullman tin. To get a square loaf, you can let the dough proof till it is about 1 inch away from the rim of the tin. Hope this helps.How do you like the bread?

I loved the bread! Although my sister feels its a little too milky (but I told her it IS a milk loaf). Oh! my other sister tried it, thinking it's a normal bread, but after eating it, she came back to me and said, but ah, it tastes more like a milk loaf rather than white bread. My heart skipped a beat thinking it must have been successful since she thinks its a milk loaf (when indeed it is) =D

Only sad thing is that, it didn't become a square =( probably because I didn't proof it long enough. So if I want to get a square loaf, do I prrof it with the lid covered? or with cling wrap? or proof it 45 min with cling wrap den 15 min with the lid covered?

Oh ya, I'm sure if i added too much yeast, or was the weather too warm. Because the the first proof i let it proof for 1 hour and the dough became overproofed (it deflated when i touched it =X)

But it still tasted fine so yep. =)

My friend who tried it said it was nice both toasted or not toasted =D (I made kaya toast like ya kun style =p)

Forgot to add this in. Don't have to be sorry for not reading my comments earlier =) No worries, the bread turned out great anyway. Oh yea, i baked it at 180 for around 40 min (cos I baked it with the lid and realised the top wasnt brown enough)

since it's still soft, it must hav been even softer if i baked it at 35 min =p

Forgot to add this in. Don't have to be sorry for not reading my comments earlier =) No worries, the bread turned out great anyway. Oh yea, i baked it at 180 for around 40 min (cos I baked it with the lid and realised the top wasnt brown enough)

since it's still soft, it must hav been even softer if i baked it at 35 min =p

For the 2nd proofing, I usually cover the tin with clingwrap, so that I can see the 'progress'. If I cover it with the lid, I am afraid that if I were to open the cover, I may tear the dough if it happens to 'hit the roof'! So I usually let the dough proof until it almost reaches one inch below the rim, remove the cling wrap, cover it with the lid and turn on the oven to preheat it. Once the oven reach the required temp (about 10-15mins) I will pop the tin into the oven. Somehow this works for me. Do remember to make sure your oven is hot enough, as baking bread is slightly different from baking cake batter. The dough will usually expand very fast (like within the 1st 5mins or so) once it is in the oven. So you need the initally heat to get the dough going. You can now use this as a basic recipe and play around with the flavour and fillings. I finds that it is quite a versatile recipe :)

I'd like to know comparatively, which loaf taste better - this Milk Loaf or Hokkaido Milk Loaf? Hehe, as I'm going to bake one today for our breakfast tomorrow. Thank you very much for your sharing, words are just not enough for my appreciation.

Hi Daphne, I am sorry I didn't get to read your comment till now. I can't comment which one taste better, as taste is something very subjective. I guess most people likes the Hokkaido Milk loaf as it has a stronger taste. Whereas I prefer to Make this milk loaf as I always have the ingredients on hand since I don't stock up on heavy cream.

I bake this bread on sunday and today but it did not proof till very tall. Not sure issit becos i use a different baking tin, i use a normal loaf tin. Its those rectangular shape loaf tin. It rise to the double of it size but not as big as yours. The end product for the 2nd time was ok, it was quite soft inside but outer layer was quite hard. I have post some pics in my blog, can leave comments for me so that i can improve the next time.

Dear HHB, you don't hv to say sorry as you are already kind enough to post the recipe. I just can't appreciate more when you spend time to answer our questions. I went ahead to bake this milk loaf and it turned out good! The only problem was after my bread machine's 25 min. kneading and the 1 hr proofing, the dough was still sticky. I let the dough stand for another 1/2 hr then went straight to bake it without doing the 2nd kneading and folding part.

Hehe, I'm not sure if the bread was of the right texture but my daughter loves it and she has asked me to bake one more loaf! Thank you HHB!

Hi Daphne, this dough is on the wet side...and sometimes it can still be sticky even after 30mins of kneading. I usually proceed with the dough...during the shaping, I will dust my hand with flour and work the dough on a floured surface, for easy rolling of the dough, I use a scraper to scrap it as I roll. If you get soft bread (and stays soft over night) you are on the right track. Have fun making more bread :D

Hi Gerlynn, glad to hear that your bread turns out well :)I don't know the reason behind using cake flour...and it appears that mainly recipes from Japanese or Taiwan cookbooks that use a mixture of bread and cake flour. Maybe it helps to make the bread less dense, less chewy??Your BM works differently from mine. In this case, you can use the full dough cycle for the kneading and first proof. Bring out the dough, pounch it down and shape accordingly and put in the loaf tin for the 2nd proof. However, I am not sure whether your machine is able to knead the dough well. You will have to test it. Hope it works. In order for the finished bread to fill up the whole tin, do let the dough proof till it reaches about one inche from the rim before you bake it. When the dough reaches one inche from the rim, you can start to preheat your oven, once the oven is ready, you can pop it into the oven. Sun Lik is at 33 Seah Street (next to Raffles Hotel). I am quite tempted to get a new pullman tin!

I think you should change this Milk Loaf(Recommended) to (Highly Recommended!!!) This is simple fantastic and fun to make. I do not have a breadmaker at home. What I did was used the hooks from my hand mixer, mixed up the ingredients till it form a dough and start to knead it with hands for 30mins. I was so excited about it that I baked till 130am. lol. Even 2 days later, the loaf is still soft and nice. My mum couldn't resist but want to try making one too. Thank you so much for this recipe.

Hi HHB,I was checking out your bread blogs and I really want to try make this one but since I live in the US, measurements are different ;_; Well, I noticed that your butter loaf recipe has similar ingredients to the milk loaf recipe; are they the same or similar?

thanks so much for sharing this awesome recipe. u have been really an angel! i have experiment this milk loaf with my favorite red bean paste added to it. however, i m lacking the skills on rolling of the dough to create the effect of swirls. in fact, i created a sunken of paste inside my loaf!! but the bread really tastes very very good!! thks again!!! =D

happie niu year to you and your family! may the warmth and love be with you and & your family always!! cheers!

I want to thank you for sharing so many nice recipes. I bought the Bluesky Bread Maker after reading your blog. It was on promotion and cost only $59.90.This machine is so cheap and useful.I have tried quite a few bread recipes posted by you and the results were fantastic. I am addicted at making bread currently all because of you.Thank you for your wonderful blog.

Hi Mayvis, that's a good price you paid for the bread maker, I bought mind @$69.90 :) I hope you will also try out other baking recipes such as cakes and tarts, I am sure you will love to make them too, not just bread making, baking in general is very addictive ;)

Saw your blog and just had to make this bread. I let the dough knead and added the butter 8 minutes later. But I cheated and then set the machine at rapid bake cuz i want to sleep before 12mn! Fingers crossed that it turns out fine! - Dawn

HiI love to read your blog! In fact, after reading through, I just bought a bluesky breadmaker this morning.. so thought to use this recipe as my 1st bread : )As this is my 1st time making bread, the questions I've may be dumb : P 1. Can the basic feature on the breadmaker do everything, that is.. do I have to press the "dough" to do the dough 1st, then press "bake" to bake the bread or I just press "basic" & it'll do fm the 1st to the last step? 2. Do I have to stop the breadmaker for the dough to proof or it'll do inside the breadmaker?3. 143g milk is it = 1 cup?4. 250g flour = 5 tablespoon?5. 1 egg is used?6. Castor sugar is the same as sugar?7. How long do you take to bake this bread?Paiseh paiseh for all these basic questions...Nic

Hi Nic, thanks for reading my blog :DFirst of all, do read thru the instruction manual carefully before you try baking any bread. There is also an instruction to tell you what to do for first time use.

It will also be good if you can read up this site: baking911.com, there is one whole section on bread making, it will help to know the details before you jump start to avoid any disappointment.

1. yes, the basic function will knead, proof and bake, total time taken is 3 hrs. 2. No you dont have to do that, the cycle will continue automatically. 3. 143g milk is not 1 cup, it is roughly 140ml...do weight it.4. 250g flour is not 5 tablespoons. Do use a weighing scale.5. It is less than an egg, lightly whisk an egg and weight it. 6. Caster sugar is not the same as sugar...it is more fine. You can get caster sugar from most supermarts. It is clearly labled on the package. 7. I use my oven to bake this bread for about 30-35mins. You can let the bread machine do the baking. Hope this helps, and happy baking!

Hi Anonymous, I agree with you that bread machine tends to give a harder crust, that's why I seldom use it to bake a whole loaf, most of the time, I just use it to knead the dough and will bake it with my oven. However, may I suggest you try the recipes which I have posted under the category "My Bread Basket (fully automated). The best ones are Hokkaido Milky Loaf and The Crunchy Peanut Butter Bread, the crust is soft, but do remember to select the Light crust.

I've tried both your sweet bun (2 weeks ago) and the milk loaf (yesterday). Both turned out lovely! The milk loaf was especially soft and fluffy, just what I like. My hubby gave his slice a light toast and it tasted lovely with a slight hint of milk. The smell during the baking was absolutely heavenly. I followed your recipe ingredients, but used my KA hook mixer (30min on low speed 2, scrapping every now and then), proof for 90min, and 2nd proof for 2 hours, which should have taken much shorter but then I went for a walk and forgot about the poor dough. It actualy almost overflowed the pullman tin! But everything turned out lovely. Thnaks for sharing the recipe. Will be trying more adventurous stuff soon :)

Hi HHBi have baked this milk loaf for about 4 xs already..simply love it! i just got my pullman tin from Sun Lik and can't wait to try it out. so , u can imagine how disappointed i was when i realised it is too high and can't fit into my pathetic table top oven! when i bake, i use the upper rack. if i use the pullman tin, i will have to use the lower rack. not sure if you are able to help me on this, but should i raise the temp or bake it longer if i use the lower rack? i have tried baking on the lower rack before but ended up spending almost 2 hrs to finish baking a small cake...thksregardsoctopusmum

Hi Octopusmum, my oven is also very tiny! It is only 20 litres. I used the lowest rack position, which is like one inche above the bottom, and the top of the pullman tin (I got a new one from Sun Lik too!) is about one inch from the heating elements (which is on top of the oven). So far I have no problem with baking loaves in the tin. The most important thing is to get an oven theremometer (do u have one?), and make sure you have preheat the oven to the right temperature before you put in the dough. I suspect your 2hr-cake was baked at a much lower temperature. Let me know after you have baked your square loaf...do you believe me if I say I really feel excited for you :)

Im waiting for my dough to proof for the 2nd time. Wish me luck :)Btw, can i check if you face the same problem as me? After kneading the dough for the 1st time in the bread machine, i was unable to con't with the 2nd knead as the machine will prompt me that the machine is too hot. Do you face this problem too? In addition, the dough was still bit sticky after the 1st proof. Is this normal?

Hi Clarii, I don't have the problem with my machine, but I heard that others have the same problem as you. What you can do is, after the intial 1 ~ 2 mins of kneading, open the lid, thru-out the kneanind cycle so that the machine will not be over-heated. Hope this will help solve the problem. If not, you can remove the dough and knead by hand for another 10mins until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough is well kneaded, it shouldn't feel sticky after the first proof. However, for this dough, it is pretty wet, so sometimes I do find the dough sticky...you can dust it very lightly with some flour so that it will be easier to shape.

Dear HHBThanks for yr reply. I'll try yr suggestion tonight. My hubby luv the bread v much. :) So if the dough is sticky, shd i knead it again? I realised tat my bread wa quite small. Cld it be due to this? Thanks so much for sharing. :)

i have an oven thermometer. i think i will do this, ie bake using the pullman tin without the cover first, using the lower rack. i know this will not achieve the perfect square but i think i better test out the baking time using the lower rack first. a bit apprehensive about using the cover cause can't see if the bread has browned etc....regardsoctopusmum

Hithe link to the Japanese site has a great looking cinnamon raisin bread (even though I don't read japanese). Have you tried it? Please share the recipe in english if you have. Many thanks for a great sitePat

I tried this milk loaf last night..this was what my husband sent me an email this morning..."This is the ultimate bread recipe ... I love the bread .. is so soft & fragrance... you have succeeded."Haha now I now my previous bread was not to his likings...Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.

Hi HHBI tried out this recipe last evening, the bread is very soft and fragant. But I think I have underbaked it as it is still quite mosit and the top did not bread like yours. So I need to add egg wash? How do I tell whether the bread is done or not?

Hi agapejen, you can bake it longer, until the top turns golden brown...I hardly use egg wash on the bread, same for this recipe. To test for doneness, unmold the bread and tap its bottom and side. If the interior sounds hollow, the bread is done. It should also be evenly browned and smells good. Also do unmold the bread promptly, otherwise condensation will cause the bread to turn moist.

Hi, even if the ingredients are still cold, the dough should still rise, but at a very slow rate. So I suspect, it could be due to the yeast you are using. Do check that your yeast is not over due...or get new ones to try again. I hope you will be able to bake a nice loaf on your next atttempt :)

Hi Emma, to knead by hand, place flour, salt, sugar, yeast in a mixing bowl. Mix well. Make a well in the centre and add in milk and egg. Mix to form a rough dough. Transfer to work surface and knead till the dough becomes smooth. Knead in the butter, and continue to knead the dough till it becomes smooth, elastic and no longer sticks to your hand and work surface. Then continue from Step 2 above. Hope this helps :)

I tried this bread again and still have problem rising the bread to fill a pullman tin even after a few hours of second proofing...any advice? Although the bread still tasted good, I felt it could be better...by the way, what is the brand of yeast you use for your bread making? Any to recommend? Thank you!!

Hi Joy, maybe this recipe portion is too small for your pullman tin? Most pullman tins will need recipes that calls for at least 300g of flour. I used "Bake King" instant yeast, I dont think it is of top quality, I simply like the fact that it comes in a plastic container, easy for storage.

Hi HHBI tried your recipe last week and it was the best bread I've ever made! Mine didn't turn out as soft and fluffy as yours but that was probably because I didn't knead it for long enough- I had too much fun playing with the dough ;P

I've fallen in love with this recipe and have baked a few loaves using this recipe. Just recently, I made the 65C tang zhong bread/water roux starter bread but I think this milk loaf yields the same softness.

Hi HHB, Love your blog soo much! Made this today and it was a bit salty and I realised that it was because I only had salted butter left so I used that.But I also tried converting everything into cups and tablespoons and I got 1/9 cup of caster sugar as well as 4tablespoons of caster sugar from another source. I put in about 2 tablespoons which I thought was in the middle. Could you tell me how many tablespoons or teaspoons 25g caster sugar is please?Thanks a lot!

Hello Happy Homebaker, Thanks for uploading this recipe! When I made the loaf, my bread didn't turn out as yellow inside as the one in your picture but more like bread rolls from the shop. And there were noticeable swirls in the bread. Is there a reason why? Also, what does yeast taste like in bread? Because someone mentioned that they could taste the yeast in the bread so they will reduce it next time.Cheers~

Hi Anonymous, 25g of caster sugar is slightly less than 2 tablespoon. you can refer to this site for converting caster sugar from gm to tablespoon (http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/sugar_amounts.html)Hope this helps :)

Hi Novicebaker, I am sorry I don't know why there are swirls in your bread, maybe you didn't roll it up tightly? I really do not know. I am not able to describe how yeast taste like but I won't advise reducing the amount of yeast, do follow baking recipes as close as possible (take note that I am using Instant Yeast). Sometimes, if the dough is left to proof for too long, it may develop a stronger yeast smell. Do try a few more times, and I am sure you will get the hang of making your own bread, happy baking :D

Hi Anonymous, I'm sorry I don't know whether your mixer has the required power to do the kneading, as I do not own a standing mixer (I only have a handheld mixer). May I suggest that you make the loaf by hand? You can refer to my post under "Matcha Red Bean Loaf" which I made by hand. It is based on this same milk loaf recipe. Hope this helps :)

Hi Happy Homebaker, I chanced upon your site while looking for inspiration to create an unique recipe to participate in a creative food contest. I really enjoyed your blog and all the photos you've published! They really look wonderful! I was wondering if you conduct classes? And perhaps, can you share with me any recipe which you think is unique enough to participate in contest?

Thank you in advance for your time! Please keep up your good effort and share with us whatever tips and tricks... :)- Cheers!

Hi Rayona, thanks for visiting and your kind words. I am afraid I'm not qualified to conduct classes since I learn baking thru cookbooks, everything is self-taught and I have yet to attend any baking class. I don't think I am qualified to give any recommendations on which recipe is unique for participation in a contest. The last thing I want is to mislead anyone :') There are many qualified and professional food bloggers out there, I am sure you will be able to get some ideas from their blog. All the best to your competition and hope to see you around :)

HiI want to ask abt the 143ml fresh milk used in this recipe. Can i use skim milk powder dissolve in water to substitute?Do you think there is any difference whether it is the chilled carton of fresh milk or milk powder dissolve in water?thks. Cheers :)

Hi Cheers, although I have not tried it, but I think you can replace it with milk powder dissolved in water (let it cool before using). Some bread recipes also use milk powder. I think the difference will not be very great from using fresh milk.

Hi HHB, I would really like to get that cute loaf pan, could you let me have the contact no. or address of Phoon Huat? I can't find this type of loaf pan in Istanbul so I'll ask my sister to buy one and mail to me :> Thanks in advance.Rgds, Annie

i've been following your blog for a long time, and i really like your recipes! they really work!

but i have a problem with making bread. usually they came out not that fluffy and soft..its slightly on the hard side..and its even harder the next day. is it becos of my kneading? i always think i dont knead enough becos of the stretching test..so i can knead up to 45mins by hand or hook+hand.. Do you think becos i overknead or underknead? please help!

Hi Trish, thanks for all your support :DI guess it is due to the kneading. It is unlikely that you will over knead a dough by hand. Does your dough breaks off easily when you do the stretch test? If yes, you will need to knead it longer. If I use my hand to do the kneading, I will usually need 30mins of continuous kneading.

As homemade bread does not have any addictives (eg bread improvers) it will not be as cottony soft as those you get from bakeries. Homemade bread will also turn hard and dry up (age) quickly. I usually consume my homemade bread within two days, most of the time they can stay soft for 2 days in air tight containers. You can warm the bread in the oven or toast it before serving and they will be as good as freshly baked. Hope this helps :)

i made this bread twice.. the first time i made, the dough breaks off easily during stretch test even though i knead for 45mins.the second time i made using machine hook and hand for 45mins as well, the dough breaks off not as easy as the first time, but still breaks off.. i can never get the correct texture during stretch test.. haha..so irritating! and during proofing, it takes more than 2 hours to grow, and its not double in size, just slightly bigger than before.. so i think i have a problem with my kneading

Hi Trish, if your dough doesn't proof well, it could be due to the kneading, and it could also due to the yeast. Do make sure that your yeast is still fresh/active, also make sure the other ingredients are not cold (especially if they are kept in the fridge) before using.

Maybe you can take a look at video clips (can check youtube) on how to go about kneading the dough? Basically you need to stretch the dough out (away from you) and then fold it back, then turn the dough 90deg and repeat the same thing over and over again; you can also toss the dough up and bang it onto your work surface (when it no longer sticks to your work surface). This way the gluten will be well developed and the first proof will be fine. I hope you can get it right on your next attempt, your arms must be very tired kneading for 45mins!

yup, i did watch the youtube videos..and follow the steps on kneading.. but i guess i didnt knead properly.. i think you are right on the ingredients, my egg and milk are cold..maybe this time round, i will use room temp egg and milk..i will update you again on my next attempt. hopefully it works this time! by the way, i just want to thank you for your advice, you are really a helpful baker. :)

do you conduct classes? especially for bread? maybe you should.. then i shall be the first to register :)

Heys^^ I just tried out the bread! It's very soft and the bread skin soo nice but I couldn't get it big enough though:( will try again next time! Thanks a lot! by the way it's the first bread that I've succeeded!

Hi HHB,I made ur Milo Doggies Cookies yesterday as a gift for my baby nephew's 1 year old birthday! It turned out ok, jus tat the first batch was abit too dark, i tink cos my oven was slightly too hot.. Subsequent batches was fine!....

I'm now in the midst of trying out this Milk Loaf.. Tink the next time i bake a bread i must really start early.. Its now proofing for the 2nd time n it didnt rise much.. Btw my loaf pan is abt 8.5" by 4.5" n i tink it is way too big for this recipe! It havent even reached half of its height n part of the base can still be seen... Haiz.. Its getting quite late n tink i'll go ahead to bake it.. Jus sent it into the oven, hope it turns out well... Tink the next time i shall double the recipe for this loaf pan...

Btw, May i know wat size is ur loaf pan(L x W x H)? Does ur size of loaf pan fit one portion of most of ur bread recipes? Ur loaf bread are usually abt how big when done? Are they as big as 1 loaf of those Sunshine or Gardenia bread? Tat day i saw one in Daiso but i tink it's very small so didnt buy it.. Have u seen it before? :)

Hi Hui, my loaf pan(pullman tin) size is about 7.5"x4"x4". All the bread loaf recipes I posted in this blog will yield the same size as that of a standard loaf of Sunshine or Gardenia bread. I use only one portion, of this recipe. It may take up to 1.5hrs for the doughs to reach 90% of the height of the pan. If the dough did not rise enough, you will end up with a hard, dense loaf of bread. I think I know the tin you saw at Daiso, it is too small.

Hi HHB,Thanks for ur reply.. Jus wanna share my result of the Milk Loaf with u.. It did not rise as big as a normal loaf of Sunshine or Gardenia bread, it only grew slightly bigger n after its baked, my mum say it looks like a huge potato(the shape n colour).. haha.. But i feel that the bread still taste gd, slightly sweet, with the fragrance of butter n milk. Although it did not rise much, it is still soft until the next day.. I'll definitely try it again next time n i should let it proof for a longer time.. But i was wondering is there any way to speed up the proofing process??

Oh ya, would also like to check with u, for the milo doggie cookies, is the dough supposed to be soft (it does not stick to my hand but its unlike the texture of those cut-out type of cookies)? n the final cookie's texture is not really crunchy like Famous Amos but its slightly like those Pineapple tart kind of skin, crisp but soft with abit of melt-in-ur-mouth feeling.. Is it correct? Thanks.. :)

Hi, the dough will proof best at at a temperature of around 28degC. It is best not to hasten the process as the dough needs time to proof. Just make sure your ingredients are in room temperature not cold from the fridge.

The texture of the cookie dough and the baked cookies are as you mentioned.

Hi HHB,I made sausage buns using your milk loaf receipe today. The end product is softer and more fragant than what my usual sweet bun receipe yields. Your receipe is a keeper! Thanks so much for sharing. Keep up the good work! Esther

I tried this receipe over the weekend twice, hand knead.. 2nd batch was better..softer.

I do have some questions, hope that you can enlighten me.. ;)- The bread was soft. But it has a faint "yeasty" smell.. is it an overdoze of yeast? I did follow your receipe of 1tsp = 4g

- The texture of the bread is abit coarse (for the first batch), is it due to insufficient kneading? Or is it the direction of slicing the bread?

- And after rolling it out for the final shaping, the dough seems to still wana shrink back after rolling it out.. is that common? I also experienced this issue when I first tried the water roux method... This is kinda fustrating esp. when adding sausage or other filling.

1. yeast smell, the ingredient amount is correct, I think you may have over proofed the dough.2. coarse texture...most likely due to under kneading, did you knead until the dough pass the window pane test? If yes, then maybe it could be due to the handling of the dough during shaping.3. First you need to let the individual dough rest and relax for 10-15mins before shaping, so that it won't be so elastic. What you can do also is, when it starts to shrink upon rolling, leave it aside (covered) and work on the next dough, then go back to the previous one. Don't try to force it, you may tear the gluten that has been formed (result of your hardwork!). Handle the dough with a gentle hand :)Hope this helps!

Hey HHB!! Your blog is wonderful!! Thanks for sharing your recipes!I want to try this recipe " first time baking bread" but I don't have bread flour. Can I use AP flour? " I know mine has a little more gluten than other kinds" should I use more flour? if I added whole wheat flour to the AP flour, would I raise the gluten in the bread? " to give a texture similar to the bread flour"Thank you for helping!Jasmine

Hi Jasmine, for best result, it is best to use bread flour. Adding more flour will not increase the gluten level, instead it will make the bread hard and dry. By adding whole wheat flour, it will not increase the gluten level either. You can use all purpose flour, just that the texture of the bread may not be that soft and light. Hope this helps :)

Thank you so much for this recipe :) I tried making this bread a few days ago and it turned out quite well! I think the only thing that I want to change is to make it even softer XDI was wondering, will the bread be even softer and cottony in texture and pull apart in 'shred-like' form if I knead my bread longer? Also, can I use the 烫种 method for this bread? How can I do that and will it make the bread softer too?

breadlover, as I am not sure how well you have kneaded the dough, so I can't comment whether you should knead it longer. What you can do is to do the window pane test. Pinch a piece of dough, around the size of a small lime/lemon, and try to stretch it. It should be able to stretch into a thin membrane without tearing. No, you can't use 烫种 method as I don't think you can simple adjust the ingredient amount, unless you don't mind experimenting the recipe several times.

I would like to get a bread maker/machine [not too expensive type ;) ].

I went to Isetan (Orchard) there are so many brands and the price ranges from 198 - 500++.

Can you advise me on the followings:- does the brand matter? If so, which brand/model would you suggest to buy or avoid.- what are the "must have" funciton when buying the machine?- any other things that I must observe- is there price difference (I am not sure if bread maker are like fixed price item) on where I buy them from departmental store, hypermarket, electronic store, ..?

Hi SW, i'm sorry I'm not able to give any advice as my bread machine was less than $70. I got it from carrefour, a basic machine but I only used it mainly for kneading the dough. It broke down 2 years ago and I have been making bread by hand. I'm not familiar with the different brands available, maybe you can decide base on how often you will be using it, and your budget. Go for the higher range if you are going to use it every other day. I will get the carrefour one if it is still available.

Hi! I tried using my Kenwood mixer to knead the dough yesterday. But I think the portion was too small for it so my bread did not turn out well. I just tried again using hand knead method. But it was so tiring. It needed about 25mins of kneading. I think I'll use my breadmaker next time. But my breadmaker cycle is rest 20mins then knead. How? Thank you so much!

Hi, usually it will take about 30mins of kneading to get the dough to the window pane stage. Yes, it is very tiring. You can try this method with your bread machine...Stop the machine after the kneading cycle. Re-start the machine and let the dough cycle start again and let it knead for another 10mins before stopping the machine. Note: in order to avoid over heating, let the dough knead for a few mins (to avoid flour from getting all over the place) then leave the lid open throughout. Hope this helps.

I'm trying again today as my bread was not able to rise to the top of the Pullman tin to make it a square loaf. I'm using 1.5 portion of the recipe as one of your readers suggested. I also tried using my Kenwood mixer again. I think overall it takes about 40-45 mins of kneading on a low speed of 2 to get a sateen dough. The dough is resting now for the first proof. I'll try Swiss-rolling twice as your recipe cause I only did it once yesterday. I hope to be successful today. Thanks ;) Teresa

Hi HHB,I want to tell you that I'm finally successful with my bread! So happy! I used this recipe and made them into ham & cheese buns. Everyone was full of praise for it. I shall try my hand at the square loaf again when I can. Oh yes, I used my Zojirushi breadmaker to make this dough. It's so much better than my mixer. Thanks again ;)

I was still not successful when I tried to make the square loaf. So yesterday I tried another recipe which uses the 汤种 method. I finally had sweet success. I just want to encourage those who have failed in making bread. Don't give up. Just keep trying and persevering. Success is just round the corner! Thanks again HHB ;)

I use your dough recipe to make buns with 奶皇包 filling. Although I accidentally used plain flour for the dough, the buns still turned out ok. Probably they will be better if I use the correct bread flour next time.

I have tried your pumpkin bread too successfully - that is much easier to do and I like the taste of it and the crunchy crust.

Hi HBB,Have tried 2 attempt using ur re wipe but both with not very good results. The bread turn out to be half the size in height compared to ur pic. Had even left it overnight to proof... As I leaving in NZ, was not able to get the exact ingredients like urs furthermore weather here is colder which makes proofing to be a challenge. The yeast that I am using is Edmonds dried yeast, not sure could that be the reason of the unsuccessful attempts. Nevertheless will continue to try. Last but not least, I have heated up the butter, so that is in liquid form, is this a wrong procedure? U mention it is cold butter, is it straight from the regfr? Thanks for further sharing

Hi RT, the butter should not be melted, it should be used in solid form. I think this could be the reason why your bread didnt turn out well. As for the dried yeast you used, does it need to be dissolved in some water before you can use it? is this stated on the package? if yes, do follow the instructions. The yeast I am using is Instant Yeast, which can be mixed directly with the other ingredients. I suspect this could be the reason why the dough didnt rise. Did it rise to double its size during the first proof?? You may also like to refer bread making sites such as bread911.com for more info on yeasts and bread making. Hope this helps :)

HBB, Thanks so much for sharing ur tips. Just for ur info, had replaced milk with soy milk and grape seed oil with butter. Result turn out acceptable though ur original recipe taste better. Btw, read and article if using liquid oil as substitute for butter, use 75-80% of the original quantity.

Just saw ur comments which I post about not melting the butter. Have always been melting the butter. So room temp is ok will try again the original receipe again. Almost give up after 4 attempts. The melting may be the reason. So straight from fridge is ok or just room temp.

The yeast I use is Edmond sure to rise. No need to resolve in water and is in sachet form. Been doing some trial an error and increase the yeast to 5g and it seems ok. also was finally able to get it right this time with soy milk and grape seed oil.

hi RT, yes, do use butter in solid form. You just need to place the butter 10-15 mins under room temperature so that it is soft enough, but not in liquid form. Thanks for trying out the recipe and I am glad to hear that your bread turns out well :)

What do you think about using bread improver? I am new to bread making and the first bread I made using the recipe in the bread maker user manual did not turn out very well:-bread was not light and soft, it was a little chewy and heavy.

I tried the milky loaf on Sat night and my second bread turned out good without any bread improver. I turned off the bread maker 20min before the cycle complete when the color of my bread looked like the one on your blog. The bread is still soft after 2 days. Thank you so much for sharing such a great recipe. My friend say the bread taste better than those from Four ..... Bakery. I try your other recipes.

Hi reborn girl, looks like the dough collapsed upon baking. It could be due to your oven temp, did u preheat to the right temp? If the oven temp is too low, the dough rises to the maximum but collapse when the temp is not hot enough for it to set. Did you have this problem with your other bread?

Thanks for sharing this recipe! I finally made my first square loaf today. Am so excited! Found the tip about letting the dough rise till there's only a 1 inch gap between the dough and the cover of the tin very helpful.

Have written up a post on my blog, and would like to share the photos with you: http://lala-lalalicious.blogspot.com/2011/09/milk-loaf.html

Hi,I just want to say THANK YOU so much for posting this recipe. I've been looking for an asian white bread recipe (you know it's completely different than all the white bread loaves found in US grocers) for a long time and I've almost given up.

I stumbled by your recipe just by chance (looking for a steamed bao recipe). Then I found this glorious Milk loaf... oh my... I think I've found my kryptonite.

It took me a loooong while to knead the bread (I used the same hand kneading method as your Nutella Twist recipe because I absolutely love the therapeudic feel of hand kneading) and it is so worth it.

I didn't have a pullman tin so I just used a regular 9" loaf pan. The bread rose beautifully on both risings and the bread came out absolutely perfect. And I rarely baked what I would/could call a perfect bread.

The only reason I didn't eat the whole loaf in 1 sitting is because I've been eating the PW cinnamon roll I made beforehand (I made both on the same day... I know I'm crazy). They came out good but nowhere near this Milk loaf good.

I don't normally post responses on blogs but this one definitely deserves a big giant honking THANK YOU!!!!!

Honestly this would be one of those bread loaves I would be proud of to gift as presents.I can't wait to do more practices and see what other variations I could make with this loaf.